Posts Tagged ‘creation’

Let’s look at the last sentence of John 6:63, “The words (truths) that I have been speaking to you are spirit and life.”

So it says that the Words, truths that Jesus was speaking were spirit and life. Selah…. (Pause and think on this) Upon first reading i immediately took that to say that life is the words Jesus spoke. But… it does not say life is the words i speak. No doubt there is life and the spirit in the words Jesus spoke. Jesus spoke words and Lazarus came to life so from that it could appear that life is the word. I happen to think there is a difference between life being the word and the words i speak having life. i think in part what Jesus is saying is that to simply breath has no benefit, no profit and i get that! Breathing without Christ… well, what’s the purpose?

Hebrews 4:12 says “For the Word that God speaks is alive and full of power [making it active, operative, energizing, and effective]; it is sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating to the dividing line of the breath of life (soul) and [the immortal] spirit, and of joints and marrow [of the deepest parts of our nature], exposing and sifting and analyzing and judging the very thoughts and purposes of the heart.

This can get a little deep for my purposes but you can research it on your own if you desire. His words are nourishment to our spirit and our soul. His words have the power of life and death in them.His words change lives, transform situations and make the impossible possible.

DEEP BREATH…. TIME TO TRANSITION… So how do i reconcile all that with Genesis 2:7 “Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.” Does that put me right back at Life Is… Breath, more specifically God’s breath?

So, what is the breath of God? my understanding is that the breath of God is the life and power of God, and is given to man to animate him.

The Creator of heaven and earth did two things in creating man. First, He formed him from the dust of the ground, and, second, He breathed His own breath into the nostrils of Adam. This distinguished man from all of God’s other creatures.

Genesis 2:7 reveals three significant facts about man’s creation. The first is that God and God alone created man. God created the substances, and then He used those substances to create man. God had both the omniscience (all-knowledge) and the omnipotence (all-power) to do exactly what He wanted.

Second, God breathed His own breath of life into man. Man is more than “dust” or physical substance. Man has a spirit. Picture it this way: Adam’s body had just been formed by God from the dust of the earth—a lifeless human body lying on the ground. Then God leaned over and “breathed” His own “breath” into Adam’s nostrils. So what exactly did God give Adam? i have always believed that when God breathed into Adam He gave him a portion of EVERYTHING He is. Much like a candle lighting another candle. What does the candle being lit get? A portion of everything the already light candle has!

Third, man became a living soul. The word soul in Hebrew is nephesh, meaning “an animated, breathing, conscious, and living being.” Man did not become a living soul until God breathed life into him. As a physical, animate, rational, and spiritual being, man is unique among all living things upon the earth.

This is starting to sound like the “which came first question, the chicken or the egg,” Gods’ breath or God’s Word?

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So it’s been a few days and things did not go as planned. Oh well. I am working on several thoughts one of which probably encompasses them all but will still require separate posts. I am not quite ready to begin with these thoughts so I came across some thoughts that are just for my own fyi, thus the title “Not Sure I Knew That.” If your old enough to remember Arsenio Hall he would have said these are things that make you go huuuuummmmm. Oh let me say that I am not endorsing, accepting or rejecting these, they are just…. huuuuummmmmmmms.

Wondering about the validity of the Bible? There are 66 books of the Bible. They were written on 3 continents, in 3 languages, by 40 different people over a period of 1500 years, on the most controversial subjects, by authors whose education and background varied greatly (kings, shepherds, scientists, attorneys, a tax collector, an army general, fishermen, priests, and a physician). There are no contradictions between them!

Need some help remembering? The Old Testament has 39 books. How can you remember that? There are 3 letters in Old; 9 letters in Testament. 3 and 9 is 39! The New Testament has 27 books. How can you remember that? There are 3 letters in New, 9 letters in Testament. 3 times 9 equals 27!

God called both Adam and Eve, “Adam”. (Genesis 5:2). This is the Law of coverture, and the reason why women take their husbands’ name. They are considered “one flesh” (Matthew 19:5-6, Mark.10:8, Ephesians 5:31).

Paul was a tentmaker (Acts 18:3) and Jesus was a carpenter (Mark 6:3).

Jesus taught the apostles to only preach to Jews (Matthew 10:5-6). It wasn’t until many years after his death that they were commanded to preach to the Gentiles as well (Acts 11:30; 14:27, Romans 1:6). The apostles explain why in Acts 13:46,47.

Nicely said. Adam and Eve attempted to cover their nakedness with fig leaves which represented their own works to cover their sin (Genesis 3:7). But God demonstrated acceptable sacrifice by covering Adam and Eve with the skin of an innocent animal (Genesis 3:21). Because without the shedding of blood, there is no remission for sin (Numbers 35:33, Hebrews 9:22).

The earth was created in six days. However, the third day completed the fundamentals of creation work, and the fourth, fifth, and sixth days are the counterpart and repetition of the first, second, and third days, and correspond respectively.

When life throws an unexpected turn… just punt… right? Normal is not something to aspire to, it’s something to get away from.

When Cindy’s sister brags once too many times about her overachieving children, Cindy blurts out that Timothy’s a musical prodigy (which he isn’t). Jim desperately wants his son to succeed on the soccer field—not because it would be good for Timothy (who’s happy just getting water for the team), but for Jim and his difficult relationship with his own father. Jim and Cindy love their child, but they want him to be normal, to fit in, even if that’s not a high priority for Timothy himself.

Timothy is happy being a simple creation of God. Whether he ever does any of the things his parents envisioned for him or not, Timothy is content and really doesn’t even seem to be aware of anything more. How I long to get to that place, where i don’t look at anyone or anything else and wish it were me.

“It’s a hard world to be different in,” Cindy tells him. “Lots of people hate anything different.”

Timothy is different. And he is bullied and mocked. The family deals with death and disappointment. And in trying to help Timothy get through it all, Jim and Cindy make loads of mistakes. They embrace those mistakes. And when asked what they’d do differently, they say they’d make new mistakes, maybe more of them. For it’s through those mistakes that learning and growth really take place.

If no other message were taken from this film, this would be worth the millions spent making it. This takes me back to the Wasteland in the Dream Giver series. Ordinary thinks that his time in Wasteland has been a waste until he is on the other side of it and realizes what he has learned.

Growth, is a big metaphor here. Just as the Greens’ garden grew a little boy, Timothy helps his parents grow into … parents. And they all cultivate and care for one another.

Now pay attention because the second message from this film is coming and again it reminds me of The Dream Giver when Ordinary is serving the Anybodies.

Timothy helps those outside his family grow too. He encourages a young girl to not be afraid to be different, eventually revealing a disfiguring birthmark. He helps his uncle laugh. He’s like a pint-size Giving Tree, freely offering whatever he has to those around them—even though it sometimes costs him dearly.

The movie gives me many things as i have watched it at least 4 times now, messages about parenthood, childhood, about unconditional love, the beauty of adoption, and living life to it’s fullness regardless of what you have or don’t have.

It will take many more viewings before i suck every drop of wisdom, understanding and life applications from it. That’s the way i am, i have to stick with it for some period of time to let it go from head knowledge to heart knowledge where it then can change my life.

In closing, Deuteronomy 32:13 He made Israel ride on the high places of the earth, and he ate the increase of the field; and He made him suck honey out of the rock and oil out of the flinty rock,

Reread this last line: “He made him suck honey out of the rock…” The word suck, the Hebrew yanaq, refers to the sucking of a baby when it is nursing. When God “made him suck honey out of the rock,” Scripture is describing the action of making a baby nurse. As a child of God i am to be drinking in the honey of His Presence! There is no more vital sustenance than the Presence of our God. There is no more glorious experience than this intimate exchange. And there is no more urgent need than for me to learn how to drink in the glory of God!

He is teaching me how to continue to drink, moment by moment. In so doing, i will learn how to abide in God’s holy Presence, through expected or unexpected turns, in the midst of blessings and when difficult unexpected news arrives at my doorstep.

ed, to the extent that you learn to drink the honey of the Lord, you will experience His manifest Presence – and in His Presence, fullness of joy abides (Psalm 16:11)!